Tiger Ascending the Mountain

The officer froze for a moment, not expecting Wang Yue to have come for this. Their general was indeed at fault, but this had also been hinted at by Emperor Wen. That was why their general had allowed He Zhaojun and Young Master Xiao to return.

But that was not something he could say aloud, so the officer hurriedly explained, looking embarrassed. "Our general only just heard that our Young Lady was to marry Young Master Xiao. He hastily brought the He family troops here to take her back, but he never expected it to be a trap set by Prince Yong. Young Master Lou and General Wang, please enter the city and rescue our general."

Lou Ben gave no answer. The engagement had not been called off. How could General He, an elder, have been unaware of it? In Lou Ben's view, General He had certainly already arranged with his shameless eldest uncle to break off the engagement. His uncle had agreed to it while the second branch of the family was away, and Lou Ben had no idea what benefits he had received. It was truly outrageous.

Besides, even if the He family had not actually broken off the engagement and He Zhaojun had merely thrown a childish tantrum, Lou Ben did not believe General He knew nothing of her temperament. Surely he had left trusted men in the capital to send him word, and could have intervened in time.

Lou Ben also did not believe the He family knew nothing of the grievances heaped on Lou Yao, or that they were unaware of how the main branch of the Lou family had oppressed the second branch. So he felt the He family looked down on their branch and had taken the opportunity to break off the engagement.